The Capcom Retro Station - Is it GOOD or BAD?

RetroRalph·video·13m 58s·analyzed·May 4, 2021

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.024

TL;DR

RetroRalph reviews Capcom Retro Station: great screen/sound, wiggly joystick, $200 import device.

Summary

RetroRalph reviews the Capcom Retro Station, a handheld arcade device featuring 5 Mega Man and 5 Street Fighter games with an 8-inch screen, available on Amazon Japan for ~$200. Despite initial skepticism, Ralph praises the screen quality, sound, HDMI output, and tilting display, but criticizes the wiggly joystick and lack of difficulty adjustment options. The review emphasizes the live, unscripted format of his new Retro Ralph Live channel.

Key Claims

The Capcom Retro Station costs approximately $200 and is only available on Amazon Japan
high confidence · It's a little expensive at 200 bucks, and it's not even available in the US, so you would have to import it from Japan.
The device has a tilting 8-inch IPS LCD screen with curved bezel
high confidence · It has an 8 inch screen... it's probably a IPS LCD screen... The screen can go up and down, which is really neat... even though it's probably just a LCD underneath it, it's probably a IPS LCD screen.
The joystick is wiggly/loose compared to the decent button quality
high confidence · The joystick is a little wiggly. I'm not going to lie. It's a little wiggly... the joystick is kind of wiggly, so whatever. But the buttons seem decent for what they are.
The device has no difficulty adjustment options, which is a limitation
high confidence · I don't see a way to adjust difficulty. Yeah, that's kind of a bummer. So if there's anything right off the bat that we found that would be nice is to have that ability.
The sound quality on the device is surprisingly good for its size
high confidence · The sound is killer good... The sound seems very good for a device this size. It's actually kind of weird.
The device includes original soundtrack audio for Mega Man and Street Fighter 2
high confidence · Oh way oh they have the original soundtrack on it oh and it sounds good... they have the soundtrack for megaman and for street fighter 2
A generic Xbox controller did not appear to work with the device
high confidence · Okay, so that doesn't appear to do anything. This one is a very generic Xbox controller right here.

Notable Quotes

“I thought this was going to be a gimmicky, weird product, but it's actually really awesome.”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 6:22 — Captures Ralph's initial skepticism turning into genuine appreciation for the device's build quality and features.
“The joystick is a little wiggly. I'm not going to lie. It's a little wiggly.”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 3:15 — Identifies the primary hardware weakness of the device early in the review.
“This is stupid. I'm not even kidding. I wish there was a way for me to show you how good the sound quality is on it because it's freaking good.”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 5:21 — Emphasizes unexpectedly high audio quality as a standout feature.
“I can make anything look good published and that's the thing. You know, you can kind of shoot it from the right angles. It's funny how you can even make something mediocre look sexy with b-roll shots and stuff like that, close-ups. So, there's no fake in this. Just is what it is.”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 12:43 — Meta-commentary explaining the philosophy behind his live review format versus traditional edited reviews.
“So if you're a Capcom fanboy you're gonna kind of ignore the price and buy it anyway probably.”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 12:13 — Identifies the target market despite the premium pricing and import friction.

Entities

RetroRalph (Jon)personCapcomcompanyAmtroncompanyCapcom Retro StationproductStreet FightergameMega MangameSuper Puzzle FightergameRetro Ralph LiveorganizationAmazon Japancompany

Signals

?
announcement: Capcom Retro Station officially available on Amazon Japan featuring 10 classic Capcom arcade games (5 Mega Man, 5 Street Fighter titles) with built-in soundtrack, 8-inch IPS screen, HDMI output, and tilting display.
high · Official product with Capcom branding, available for purchase on Amazon Japan at approximately $200; includes licensed Capcom IP and audio.
~
sentiment_shift: RetroRalph's initial skepticism about the product transforms into genuine appreciation following hands-on experience, suggesting potential positive reception in retro gaming community.
high · Opening: 'I wasn't actually that excited for it... I thought this was going to be a gimmicky, weird product'; Mid-review: 'I thought this was going to be a gimmicky, weird product, but it's actually really awesome.'
?
technology_signal: Capcom entering compact licensed arcade hardware market with emphasis on screen quality (IPS LCD with curved bezel) and audio fidelity, targeting retro gaming collectors.
medium · Device features high-quality IPS LCD screen, integrated audio system with original soundtracks, HDMI connectivity, and curved bezel aesthetic; positioned as collectible shelf item.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.042

0:00

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel. Okay, the video you're about to watch was previously aired live on Retro Ralph Live. That's right, I have a new channel called Retro Ralph Live. So if you enjoy live content, all of that live content is going to be exclusive to that channel. So this is just a sample of that. I basically condensed it down into an edited video. So if you enjoy it, consider subscribing to Retro Ralph Live. Without further ado, let's check out the video.

0:25

Alright, how's it going guys? Today we're going to take a look at the Retro Station. This is the Capcom Retro Station. It's kind of interesting. It's got five Mega Man games and five Street Fighter games. It's sort of like a Mega Man versus Street Fighter. This is available on Amazon Japan. I'll show you the side of it really quick so you can see it. So that's one side. That's the Mega Man side. And then I'm going to show you the Street Fighter side. This is pretty cool. It's interesting. I wasn't actually that excited for it, but I even forgot I even ordered it so so yeah on the street fighter side you got street fighter 2 street fighter 2 champion edition you got uh the new challengers and then is that turbo yeah turbo and then actually you got super puzzle fighter which actually is a good it's actually a good game i like super puzzle fighter but it's by a company named tron i have no idea what tron is but it is a licensed Capcom product so we're gonna open this thing up I'm not huge on unboxings because I feel like they waste a lot of time you want to get to the product like who cares why are you gonna even box it but we're gonna so the instruction manual appears to be in Japanese so that's gonna be useless to us I'm gonna try to get this up without a break in my camera so I'm gonna tilt it on the side this should be a pretty cool little unit it's got an 8 inch screen which is pretty neat and it does have HDMI out supposedly according to the box there it is there it is from the top looks kind of neat right so it's kind of cool looking you know you got some you got your clicky buttons right here actually they're not too bad they're kind of like more of a sandwa button this is the whole thing this is the package kind of cool this little option right here this is actually to add a controller so you can add a usb controller there you go so it's got the capcom logo right there it's got the capcom logo on the back got your hdmi you got your power and you have a headphone jack and then on the side you have another port so you can have two controllers plugged into it and they did sell controllers with this thing and then on the front you've got this is kind of neat you've got a little volume control so this is a volume control and that's a power button the screen does it does tilt oh wow it does that's cool I didn't know it tilted look at that that's pretty neat you can tilt it back like that or tilt it forward that's actually really neat all right so let's look at the bottom really quick there's nothing on the bottom so there is no battery powered and you know there's no way to battery and eat power this thing so we're gonna take off let's take off this protective shield real quick and this is just gonna be a quick look at the device we're not we're not gonna sit here all day it does have a sort of curvature to sort of simulate like it's looking like a 4x3 you know TV or something like that which is pretty cool so I'm gonna put it down really fast because I think the power cord busted out of the box somewhere okay there was another box in there which is this guy right here and this is our power cord so we'll plug this thing in what do you guys think of this so far? It's actually a lot cooler looking than I thought it would be. Got your little dust cap right there. The joystick is a little wiggly. I'm not going to lie. It's a little wiggly I don know if they claim that this is Sanwa or anything like that but it a little wiggly All right let me plug it in real fast and then we get going Plug that in right there So what do you guys think I actually surprised at this so far Oh, it says Mega Man X Street Fighter. It has like a little logo right there. And then we'll power it on this way, just because it'd probably be the best way for you guys to see it. And then we'll see what happens. So we'll put the power on. I don't see anything happening yet. Yeah, buddy. Oh, that's cool. Very, very crisp Capcom screen. So it looks really good. All right, it's just asking me to pick my language, all basic stuff. Oh, wow, the interface is nice looking. So you've got language, game image. Okay, so there's pixel mode, scanning line, and smooth mode. Hmm. All right, there's a system option. It just says version 1.0. We'll go back, and then I don't know what this does. What is this?

8:25

Oh, that's weird. So jump is down here. Okay. That's a little bit annoying. So Michael B was saying this is a Game Boy Advance game. Cool. Doing great so far. I'm unfamiliar with this game. So look out the screen again. I got you guys. You guys got to see this screen it's like it's stupid look at the quality of the screen i'm i don't understand like normally these little devices with screens don't look good it did a good job on the screen man yeah it look it looks good and again the sound is like really good which i'm surprised at because you guys know those these devices that come out they're just okay usually in the sound department and this one just happens to really hit it out of the park when it comes to that. But again, really quick, just to get another look at it. It's got these little, I don't know, they don't serve a purpose. It just, it just has this little thing. The screen can go up and down, which is really neat. The joystick, the joystick isn't the best. I mean, you can kind of tell it's pretty wiggly, but the buttons seem fine. The joystick, I'm sure you could probably open it up and mod it. I'm sure you could. Yeah, it has like ears or something that as Lewis points out, it's got this really interesting sort of volume control, which is pretty cool. You can add the game pads that they sell for it on both sides, player one and player two, and they look pretty cool. I didn't get those, by the way. I don't know what they cost. On the back, you've got this nice, you know, the Capcom emblem on the back, which looks really cool. And this isn't a sticker. This is actually kind of, I don't know, sort of like etched into it. It has, although it's a little raised. Maybe it is. I don't know. I don't know. Oh, actually, that's weird. The outline is etched, but, oh weird like this one feels like it's it almost feels like they messed up here this feels like this one's a sticker can you guys see that look i'll have to put it on the cat the other uh camera there's a there's a microphone out and it does have hdmi out that's a lot packed in to a device for 500 for 200 bucks to be honest like to be able to play it on a tv and you get 10 games and the screen is nice and it sounds good it pretty decent man for what you getting I know we kind of we kind of um I feel like we spoiled nowadays with the cost of things and you know now you got all these devices that you can sideload games but this is actually really nice I am not going to peel it does not work on batteries it's plug-in only unfortunately so there's just so you can see it graphically how it looks all right there you have it guys all right I'll give you my quick two seconds on it. And I happen to be wearing a Street Fighter t-shirt.

10:53

Okay, I'll give you my final thoughts on this thing. So what do I think about this thing? It's pretty cool. I mean, it sounds good. So, sound-wise, you gotta give him a thumbs up. The screen, the fact that it has the bezel that's curved, even though it's probably just a LCD underneath it, it's probably a IPS LCD screen. It's really nice. So the screen looks great. The sound is great. The joystick the controller, you know, the joystick is kind of a wiggle stick, so whatever. But the buttons seem decent for what they are. They're just kind of like Sanwa clones, which is fine, which is like everything these days. I like the fact that the screen tilts, and I like the fact that it's got HDMI out. I think that's a nice little touch. It's a little expensive at 200 bucks, and it's not even available in the US, so you've got to import it from Japan. So if you go to Amazon Japan, you can get it but it would look really cool on a shelf for anyone that's a capcom collector and i don't know i think in our basically in our little niche of retro gaming i feel like a lot of people like to collect these devices you know i've got a couple of those new wave toys devices on the on the shelf over there and the numskull devices in my closet like people like to showcase these i will probably display this in that case back there it's got the nice capcom logo on the back although there is a little weird thing with the c thumbs up it looks like there's a sticker off to play with that yeah so if you're a Capcom fanboy you're gonna kind of ignore the price and buy it anyway probably but anyways guys I hope you enjoyed that I had a good time showing it to you really quick that's what we do on this Retro Ralph live channel it's just hey you're literally seeing it as I'm seeing it we unbox it together so however we experience it is how we experience it so if something sucks we're gonna find out together that it sucks so I kind of like this format better than doing a review that's published because I can make anything look good published and that's the thing. You know, you can kind of shoot it from the right angles. It's funny how you can even make something mediocre look sexy with b-roll shots and stuff like that, close-ups. So, there's no fake in this. It just is what it is. But I actually really do like this. I'll have to log more time on it to see. The joystick would probably be my only thing. If we could open it up and maybe replace the joystick, that'd be great, because it seems like the joystick is kind of cheapy, which is weird because everything else seems like the buttons aren't good enough. but it would have been nice if they just put a little bit better of a joystick on it. All right, that's it, guys. That's it for now. There is a link in the description if you're interested in getting this. Please, if you like this content, consider subscribing to Retro Ralph Live. This is the kind of stuff we're going to do here. I'm trying to up that subscriber count, and hopefully we can get to 1,000 subscribers by the end of the month. That would be awesome. And yeah, that's it for now, guys. We will see you on the next one.